Monday, September 18, 2017

Wish Me Love, by Michele Ashman Bell
2017, 288p, Clean Contemporary Romance
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way

Charlotte Wells does not date. After surviving a broken engagement, she’s taken a leave of absence from the social scene. So when her best friend and coworker, Jack, challenges her to get back in the game, she’s not so sure she’s ready to play. But ultimately, curiosity gets the best of her, and Charlotte accepts the daunting challenge: she will attempt to have fifty first dates in her effort to find “the one.” Unfortunately, she quickly realizes that the dating pool mostly holds clown fish as she goes on one lousy outing after another. Without a good man in sight as summer ends, Charlotte cuts her losses and sets her sights on a fun-filled trip to her cousin’s destination wedding in Brazil.

Brazil is a land of beautiful sights and delicious offerings—including Max, the charming brother of her cousin’s new husband. Max has all the makings of a Prince Charming in soccer cleats, and Charlotte’s happily ever after seems to be within reach. But love is a funny thing, and soon Charlotte finds herself wondering: could it be that her true love has been right in front of her all along?

I must admit that one of the things that appealed to me the most about this book was Charlotte accepting a challenge to go on fifty first dates. I knew that alone would be entertaining, and it definitely was! Those types of situations bring back memories and make me cringe and laugh. Charlotte has not had good luck in the love department and her best friend, Jack, wants to help her out so he issues that challenge to her. She gets along well with Jack, but he's engaged, so he's obviously not available for her to date. Her cousin is getting married in Brazil at the end of the summer, and Charlotte decides to go. While there, she meets Max, and they are mutually attracted to each other. Other areas in her life are also going well and life is looking up.I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! It's full of great characters, as well as a couple of not-so-great ones, and it was fun to tag along on Charlotte's journey to find love. She's easy to like and relate to and I felt for her when she was going on some truly awful dates. The main characters are LDS ("Mormon") so there are some religious references but this book can be enjoyed by anyone that enjoys clean contemporary romance!

Michele Ashman Bell grew up in St. George, Utah. In the fourth grade, her teacher wrote on her report card that she had a tendency to daydream and would probably do well with creative writing. Her love of books and learning about people and places has helped make her teacher's prediction come true. Michele is the author of many books and Christmas stories. She is married and is the mother of four children and grandma of three granddaughters and one grandson. Aside from supporting her children in their many activities, she has taught fitness classes for over thirty years and currently teaches Zumba. She loves to travel and do research for her books, and her favorite foods are chocolate and cinnamon bears.